Speaking Church

Language is the gift by which we shape our understanding and tell our story. But if we cannot see ourselves and our context in our language, our lives can be confused and our witness weakened through a kind of cognitive dissonance created when the only vocabulary available to us fails to match our lived situation. Urban and suburban congregations live this disconnect when the language and imagery often employed in hymns, prayers, imagery, and liturgies reflect a rural ideal far from the experience of believers. The irony is revealed when we recognize that the Bible is a book deeply and profoundly urban in nature. Christianity's earliest history gives both authorization and resources for helping urban and suburban congregations find their unique voice.


""Speaking Church is a much needed resource about life and faith in the city. Ross Bartlett invites us to think about the words and images we use as we consider the context and community in which many of us live (eighty percent of us in North America). This would be a fun book for groups to explore the Bible studies, the diagnostic tools, and the theological concepts explained in a clear, simple, and helpful way.""
--Nancy E. Hardy, author of Worship in the City, Prayers and Songs for Urban Settings

""In Speaking Church, Ross Bartlett explores language and what it means to be a sub/urban church when many of the biblical metaphors are rural. I was especially captivated by his research into hymnody and how different hymns spoke or did not speak to church members. As always, Ross's writing is both scholarly and accessible; this book will be of interest to preachers, teachers, and all who seek to follow the way of Jesus.""
--Catherine MacDonald, Intentional Interim Minister, Elmsdale Cooperative Ministry, Nova Scotia


After more than thirty-five years of congregational ministry, Ross Bartlett was recently appointed as director of United Church Formation at the Atlantic School of Theology, Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is the author of On Holy Ground (2017).